Contributed by letmego. Posted by aubin on Sunday, September 23, 2007 at 5:30 PM (EDT)

Sex Pistols seem to be celebrating their 30th anniversary by keeping themselves in the press this week. Frontman John Lyndon recently ripped into the Police regarding their recent reunion performance noting:

That really is a reformation isn't it? But honestly that's like soggy old dead carcasses. You know listening to Stink try to squeak through 'Roxanne' one more time that's not fun, It's like letting air out of a balloon.

If you think there's depth to Sex Pistols songs, you're not really one to talk.

The Pistols may've been important to punk's history, but only revisionists see them as something other than a punk rock boy band, developed to package rebellion and sell clothes, much like Good Charlotte.

You have yet to counter that argument, though. Say something to prove to me that Mclaren didn't put the band together. And also, how is that argument lame? It's true, and you don't like it? And please tell me how it shows how little I know about music. I'm pretty sure that people who don't know much about music buy shirts that say "God Save The Queen", put a safety pin through their ear and go hang out outside the mall. Does that sound familiar to you?
Hey, I'll tell you what. I'll counter YOUR argument. "sex pistols were/are more of an important bands then any shitty band you listen to now."? I listen to Bad Religion, The Descendents, The Ramones, Husker Du, The Replacements, The Clash, Fugazi, and a whole crapload more. Were the Sex Pistols as important as any of these? It's possible to make that argument. Do the Pistols have even a shred of the respectability these bands have/had? Not at all. "I Love Lucy" was important to the history of television. That doesn't make it good.

the argument is lame because you totally discredit the amount of influence they had. well you do give them credit but then you proceed to trash them on all levels that has absolutely nothing to do with the bands' music. many bands you cite and that we all hold in high regard i'm sure were listening to the pistols when they were getting into punk rock. and i'm guessing they didn't quite think of the pistols as the "good charlotte" of their generation unless you want to call them all a bunch of tools.

and the fact that you think the pistols didn't have depth to their lyrics shows you never paid attention to them anyways. go listen to bodies again. anarchy in the uk....god save the queen....you think a boy band would've written those songs in England in 1977?

and what the hell does respectability have anything to do with importance? the pistols never released anything remotely bad as some of the stuff the clash or bad religion or the ramones have released. hmmm, i guess that makes them more respectable then......ironically, it was the freakin RAMONES, not the Sex Pistols, that were the ones trying to break through into the mainstream.

But the Ramones sang about dancing and sniffing glue, not about rebellion. Their desire for mainstream success doesn't make them hypocrites.

And

"many bands you cite and that we all hold in high regard i'm sure were listening to the pistols when they were getting into punk rock."?

Many bands we hold in high regard also listened to crap like King Crimson (Bad Religion) and The Bay City Rollers (The Ramones). It doesn't make King Crimson and The Bay City Rollers good.

I will say it again, as you seem to be ignoring it when I do: I will NOT deny the Pistols' influence. But they are a hypocritical joke of a band. Look past your nostalgia and listen to them critically.

the sex pistols put out only one real album. the ramones, the clash, and bad religion put out a good amount of albums. it's very rare that bands with large catalogs don't have at least one stinker in them.

and i seem to remember johnny rotten somewhere on tv talking about writing 'anarchy in the uk'. he was thinking of what would sound rebellious, and thought 'anarchy' sounded good. so, really, their songs had no depth.

The bottom line is that Nevermind the Bollocks, no matter how groundbreaking it was at the time, should not be re-issued anymore. Honestly, you can find the album in any store and this reissue will not make The Sex Pistols all the sudden sound better. I don't understand the fuss on why they're re-releasing NMTB for the 27th time. Also, does Johnny Rotten realize that he's about as hypocritcal as they get? Probably, but he just wants to cause controversy. Give it up. You're no longer relevant. Go back to scouting rap-rock bands.

i'd wager a shinny penny that if you surveyed 100 people who consider themselves part of the subculture, or at least fans of what can be considered "punk" music, the majority of them well say something positive about the Pistols, rather then "they're a bunch of hypocritical quasi-boy-band members".

the difference between you and me is that taking back sunday does not register to me nor does rancid. These are bands I do not think about at all. The only bands you listed that are more important the the pistols was the clash. fyi... I love the bay city rollers. I still believe you know nothing of music, just look at the bands that influence your band, Garbage(besides the mates, but you probably only listen to them cause d4 or lawrence arms name dropped them somewhere)

‚??majority of people that consider themselves part of the subculture also love Rancid but not Fugazi or still talk about how "Taking Back Sunday's first album was good".‚?Ě

Totally irrelevant to my original point. If anything, that actually supports my position.

‚??Taste is subjective‚?Ě

Exactly, I‚??m not trying to change your mind, my original point, was my qualm with your choice of the word "revisionist". You stated that ‚??but only revisionists see them as something other than a punk rock boy band‚?Ě, which I believe to be incorrect, I think its quite clear that the majority of people view them in a positive light, and in fact, the ‚??revisionist‚?Ě attitude towards the Pistols is to view them as a hypocritical ‚??boy band‚?Ě. I‚??m not saying that your opinion regarding the Pistols is incorrect; frankly I don‚??t even care what your opinion is.

i know that there isn't depth. they know there isn't depth. but they sure know that tons of kids would buy into it. so yes, i agree with what i said. the sex pistols totally turned the word anarchy into money for themeselves.

i don't take it literally. i should have said something more along the lines of, the sex pistols knew when they made the song anarchy in the uk that tons of kids would latch on to the idea of anarchy without considering what the song meant. they turned the word anarchy into money, not the idea. tons of kids wear their leather jackets with sex pistols patches/ shirts and talk of anarchy simply because they heard it in a fuckin sex pistols song. at any rate, chill the fuck out "bigstar". i do think i know something about something. i think i know that the sex pistols knew that kids would take anarchy in the uk literally. at least they have certainly cashed in on people's ignorance.

Fuck John Lydon, Fuck the Sex Pistols. At least the Police werent put together to sell clothes. I really hate this piece of shit band...they dont deserve any recognition for their fucking piece of shit record they made.

Let's see how many times we can get people to buy the same songs over and over again!

They put out one album and a soundtrack people. Yet, if I owned every different CD package the Pistols have released, I'd have more of their CDs than anyone else, by a LARGE margin. How can you argue that this band is about anything other than commerce?

No one is arguing that the Sex Pistols are all about making a buck. However, you'd have to be pretty stupid to act like Nevermind the Bollocks isn't one of the greatest and most important punk albums of all time.

He knows how big of a dickhead he's being, how devoid these comments are of humor (even though Sting should be an easy target), and how big of a hypocritical joke his band is. But he knows that saying this will mean even more promotion for his band's whorefest (sorry, I meant "reunion"), and that we'll all talk about it like we are. I'm fully aware that he feeds off of our derision, but I don't care.

If anything, this is just killing what little (and stress little) credit that the man has left. Even if The Police's reunion tour was just a ploy to pocket some cash while they still have a chance, who is this John Lydon fellow, and what basis does he have to be a hypocritical prick? That's wonderful that his preassembled band put out ONE album 30 years ago. But, the times change, and if you can't change along with it, maybe it's time to hang it up.

I'll admit I'm very biased, because the police are one of my favorite bands ever, but this douche can't hold a candle to the talent and songwriting that Sting and co. had when the police were still putting out records and touring. I was also excited, despite what he says, that they decided to do a tour considering I'm only 25 and I missed the boat when they were a band in the late 70's through mid 80's. So basically he can eat a dick.

That really is a reformation isn't it? But honestly that's like soggy old dead carcasses. You know listening to Rotten try to squeak through 'Anarchy In The UK' one more time that's not fun, It's like letting air out of a balloon.

Wait wait wait...so Johnny Rotten is bitching about the Police yet he is on that battle of the bands show and tells all these fucking terrible trendy douche bag bands how good they are all the time? Very, very unpunk of you sir. No respect from me.

The Pistols represented everything idiotic about punk... "fuck this! fuck the system! anarchy! our outrageous comments cover up the fact that we can't play music." At least the Ramones made punk fun and the Clash made it important and respectable in opposition to disco and corporate rock.

Least punk band of all time. This is the same guy who lambasted green day and NoFX for "not earning" the punk label. What an idiot! at least those bands have been around for longer than two years and write a good song every now and then.

Good point, but George Lucas isn't running around talking badly about other directors who want to re-release their movies in different formats and different editions, such as the super special uncut director's unrated edition. Or for 5 dollars more, you can get the super special uncut director's unrated edition with a special limited edition holographic picture of a lightsaber.

Did The Pistols ever play New York or LA? I read We Got the Neutron Bomb and there was a section in the book about the Pistols that is pretty confusing (at least to me). It sounded like Malcolm thought something along the lines of, "if the Pistols played in either of those two cities they would ruin their reputation," I may be way off base. Actually, I think I will read the book again, it is great.

Mr. Rotten,
Would you say it's about the same as the band of carcasses you dragged through Atlantic City on your last reunion tour where you played the same venue that Air Supply plays when they come through town? Or would it be more akin to your own soggy dead carcass that does the Simon Cowell impersonation on that shitty Bodog Battle of the Bands show? Discuss.

On the streets - it's the Police
In my house - it's the Police
They've got a gun - the Police
Gotta run - the Police
A shitty band - the Police
I ain't no fan - the Police
I can't stand the Police in this fucking city!